The Crazy Battle God Has Returned - Chapter 138

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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A Mad Swordsman Returns – Chapter 138

Divine Training Ground.
Ever since Han Yu-sung reclaimed the national buff from Japan and it appeared in Korea’s major cities.
Various reactions have circulated regarding it.

“Wow, they’re barely any different from actual monsters, are they?”
“Do we really have to fight things like this to become active players?”
“The monsters you’ll face are goblins. Perfect creatures for rookies to hunt. Anyone who loses to these should be ashamed of themselves!”

The Divine Training Ground was once a national buff that Korea possessed.
Its purpose hadn’t changed from the old days either. It was an excellent facility for newly awakened players to gain practical combat experience against monsters.
Nothing more, nothing less.
Exactly that much.

“Hmm, it’s not bad or anything….”
“We do gain practical experience, and it’s decent enough, but still.”
“Was there really a need to bring this back?”

Such doubts naturally arose.
The advantages were undeniable. Practical experience aside, it could also prevent inexperienced rookie players from being duped by malicious Difficult Realms.
How many Lords had attempted to swindle rookie players seeking practical experience, extorting coins from them?

[You have defeated a Goblin.]
[Experience gained has been reduced by 80% as a penalty.]

The problem was that the experience multiplier was far too low.
And the variety of monsters that appeared wasn’t particularly diverse.
Most players couldn’t understand why Han Yu-sung had chosen this of all things.

[Was it Han Yu-sung who selected the national buff, ‘Divine Training Ground’?]
[What was Han Yu-sung’s reason for actively recommending the Divine Training Ground?]

“What, Han Yu-sung pushed for it?”
“Then maybe he had some strategy in mind when he made the choice.”

Upon hearing the name ‘Han Yu-sung’, I found myself convinced.
Wasn’t this the player who had demonstrated absurd feats throughout the successive trials?
If such a player made this choice, there had to be some deeper purpose behind it.
And there was something else.

“Well, isn’t this just reclaiming what was stolen from us?”
“Just like in the National Inter-Country Tournament, we’ve reclaimed it again. Considering how those bastards have been looking down on us all this time, it doesn’t seem so bad, does it?”
“Exactly. I’m satisfied with this.”
“Besides, we’ve gained plenty of new national buffs this time. What’s one more, right?”

The fact that what was taken came from Japan weighed heavily in their favor.
There was a certain exhilaration in finally landing a proper blow against an enemy from whom they had only suffered one-sided defeats.
Meanwhile.

[My lord, I have something to say….]

I stood face to face with Kakasha in the Safe House.
To be precise, Kakasha had blocked my path while I was in the middle of training.

[I do have something to say! Listen! Do not ignore me!]
“You’re being a nuisance. What is it?”

I sighed and wiped the sweat from my face.

[It concerns the future of us both!]
“Don’t use such ominous language. Explain quickly.”
[I-I-I’m furious!]

An enraged Kakasha grabbed my hair and pulled.
Realizing that the conversation wouldn’t progress this way, he suppressed his anger and voiced what he had been trying to say.

[It seems I can no longer hide my existence.]
“Hmm….”

I thought he was just going to ramble about something pointless.
But the subject was more serious than I had anticipated, so I lent him my full attention.

[As you know, I have accumulated quite a few coins by now, and my strength has been restored. Moreover, I have even recovered a portion of the Sanctuary I lost. I find myself thinking that I can no longer hide my existence.]
“Well, up until now I could hide because my power was weak.”
[Indeed, I followed you while concealed within the sacred relic you possess. I intend to continue with you, but hiding my presence will become difficult from here on.]

The four million coins I obtained from the Hero’s War this time was significant.
Combined with the coins received as compensation from the Alliance, reward money, and miscellaneous coins gathered along the way, I now possessed over seven million coins.
And how much had Kakasha absorbed so far?

[If I absorb the coins you currently possess, I will recover considerable strength. Of course, compared to my prime, it remains far insufficient. Still, the situation is vastly improved from when I was on the brink of annihilation.]
“You consume that much and still fall short.”
[Kyaaaah! You’re thinking of calling me that again!]

Then I’ll call you by that name.
Han Yu-sung pushed away the charging Kakasha with an indifferent expression.

“So if you absorb those coins, it will become difficult to hide your existence?”
[That is correct! And there is also the matter of you becoming far too famous!]

That was true.
Han Yu-sung had gained considerable notoriety. The number of people watching his every move had increased dramatically.
And among them were the Lords.
Lords with whom Han Yu-sung had accumulated various grievances.

[Achiros, the Lord of the Dead, and the other Lords who suffered losses because of you in the Hero’s War—there is no telling what they might do.]
“Since I’ve already earned their enmity, there’s no point in hiding my identity further.”
[That is true. The greatest reason we concealed my identity was our concern that Achiros would track me down.]

When Han Yu-sung first picked up Kakasha, he lacked the strength to confront Achiros.
Of course, even now he did not possess the power to face Achiros directly.
However, he did have the strength to repel the Sworn Ones that Achiros would send.
That alone changed the situation considerably.
Above all.

‘Hiding Kakasha has become a constraint in itself now.’

Every time I used the sacred relic, I had to be careful, and there were blessings I could not use at all.
Until now I had concealed it through various means, but there was no guarantee it would continue to work going forward.
It was time to cast off these constraints.

“This is going to become troublesome in all sorts of ways.”
[Hmm. But looked at from another angle, it’s an opportunity as well. If you make good use of the ‘Hero’s War’, you might reap considerable benefits.]
“That’s true enough.”

One way or another, Lords targeting Kakasha would emerge.
Given the format of the Hero’s War, there’s no shortage of ways to respond. Just as Kakasha said, it could become an opportunity to expand my forces.

“I should prepare myself mentally.”
[I’ll need to make preparations too. First, this egg!]

Whoosh!

The flames Kakasha summoned were absorbed into the Fire Phoenix’s egg.
Regardless, it was a Mythic-grade egg. If it absorbed flames directly conjured by a Lord, something far more extraordinary might emerge than expected.

[Ah, and the preparations for the Difficult Realm are complete. I intend to open the ‘Hall of Trials’, but where would be best to open it?]
“Is it enough to just open it?”
[As you well know, there are many Lords in this world. The Difficult Realms they’ve created are no different. In other words….]
“Publicity is necessary.”

Kakasha nodded.
Han Yu-sung examined the structure of the Hall of Trials that she had worked on.
The level ranges had been lowered compared to when he had cleared it, and the rewards were weaker too.
But unlike the Library of Knowledge that Han Yu-sung had once cleared, there was no intention whatsoever to deceive the players.
It had been created from the start with the purpose of targeting ‘evaluation rewards’.

“At this level, the publicity effect should be quite good, shouldn’t it?”
[What about advertising with money, the way humans do?]
“Well….”

That wasn’t a bad method either.
However, with who I am now, there’s a far more explosive way to draw attention.
Though it will become somewhat bothersome.

“I’ll need to draw in the day-fliers.”
[Huh? Day-fliers?]

Kakasha tilted her head in confusion as she watched Han Yu-sung smile.

* * *

Among players, there existed those known as information brokers.
Those who profited by selling information their clients desired.
They possessed unique abilities or classes specialized in information gathering, extracting whatever their clients sought.

“Ugh, seriously. This is driving me insane….”

Player Lim Seo-yun was one such information broker.
Recently, she had been intensely focused on gathering information about a particular individual.

“Han Yu-sung, what on earth is this guy doing and where?”

Information related to Han Yu-sung.
Not just her—virtually every information broker coveted such intelligence.
He was Korea’s most famous player of late, after all.
Clients requesting any information about him were far from few.
The problem was that there was no way to obtain it.

‘I don’t even know where he lives, he appears out of nowhere, moves without leaving a trace—how am I supposed to gather information on him?!’

It was an exasperatingly frustrating situation.
Still, Lim Seo-yun refused to give up, methodically collecting fragments of information about Han Yu-sung until she identified the locations where he appeared most frequently.
Then she patrolled those areas, waiting for him to show himself.
The whole endeavor felt unmistakably like paparazzi work, which sparked occasional pangs of doubt.

‘As long as I catch something, anything counts. Any information converts to coins!’

Her hunger for coins had stripped away all pride.
After waiting several days like this.

“Huh?!”

The ‘eye’ I had installed detected what I had been waiting for.
A man wearing his hood pulled up.
But his visible features seemed oddly familiar.
I hastily shifted my vision to confirm his face directly.

“F-found him!”

I discovered that the man was Han Yu-sung.
Han Yu-sung glanced around briefly before heading toward somewhere.
His movements were far too suspicious.
Lim Seo-yun hurriedly pursued him.

‘He’s left Seoul… where is he going?’

Han Yu-sung departed Seoul and headed toward a sparsely populated area.
He passed roads, traversed forests, crossed mountains, and finally arrived at…

‘A valley?’

It was a valley located in a place where few people ventured.
Why had he come all the way here?
Suddenly, a possibility flashed through Lim Seo-yun’s mind.
A possibility that could become a major scoop!
She hurriedly pursued Han Yu-sung, but…

“What… what is this? Where exactly is he going…?”

She lost sight of him before long.
He had vanished as if he’d simply evaporated.
However, traces remained on the ground.
Lim Seo-yun followed the tracks and ventured deeper into the valley.
What entered her vision was…

[Difficult Realm: Hall of Trials.]
[A Difficult Realm opened by a Lord who concealed their identity. Various trials await the participants. The more difficult the trial, and the more conditions exceeded, the greater the rewards granted.]
[Death is exempted within this Difficult Realm. However, should a participant fail a trial, a portion of their held coins is surrendered to the Difficult Realm’s master.]
[This Difficult Realm is ‘adjusted’ according to the participant’s level.]
[Entry Restrictions: None.]
[Entry Fee: None.]

“…A Difficult Realm?”

A Difficult Realm hidden within a valley.
Lim Seo-yun’s movements froze momentarily.
But only for an instant—her eyes gleamed with excitement.

“Th-this is huge.”

I had discovered a scoop.
And not just any scoop—one that would bring me tremendous profit!

* * *

Days later.
Articles flooded multiple news outlets simultaneously.

[Player Han Yu-sung’s Secret: What is the True Identity of the Difficult Realm He Frequents?]
[‘Hall of Trials’! Is This Where Han Yu-sung’s Strength Comes From?]
[【Difficult Realm Exploration Guide】 No Entrance Fee, No Restrictions—A Blessed Difficult Realm. Diverse Trials Await Those Who Enter, Tailored to Their Level!]
[Han Yu-sung Had Reason to Hide It! The Hall of Trials Draws Crowds!]

All the articles were related to the Hall of Trials.
A Difficult Realm that Han Yu-sung—recently gaining tremendous fame—visited in secret.
Players curious about it began to flock there.
No entrance fee, no restrictions. And a place where death itself was forgiven?

[There’s no reason not to go, right?]
[I’m heading there today. Is the line long?]
[yep; I also failed the open run]

Players had no choice but to flood in.
Those who pushed through the crowds and entered the Difficult Realm encountered the trials, and were taken aback by their unexpectedly high difficulty.
But that surprise was short-lived.

[Why are there so many monsters here?]
[Even if I fail the trial, I can just hunt monsters and level up for profit. And if I succeed, I get a generous reward too]
[The more monsters appear and the stronger they are, the more coins are spent, right? Can you really run a business like this?]
[According to my lord, it seems like they’re aiming for evaluation rewards. But apparently it’s not at a level where you can sustain it with evaluation rewards alone…]

Players who explored the interior were bewildered for an entirely different reason.
No entrance fee, yet monsters spawn abundantly for easy experience farming. On top of that, if you have the skill, you even get a chance at rewards.
And of all people, a ‘Lord’ opened this Difficult Realm?
Had the Lord completely lost his mind?

[Kuhuhuhuh! That Thunder God fellow certainly has good taste in blessings!]

Of course not.
The blessing obtained from the Tomb of the Lord: Frugality.
It was thanks to this blessing that reduced the cost of entering the Difficult Realm by 20% and replenished the Difficult Realm’s components for free at regular intervals.

[Behold, my lord! Coins flow in from those who fail the Difficult Realm! And with such excellent ratings, we even earn rating rewards!]
[Once replenishing monsters becomes a loss, simply close the Difficult Realm temporarily! When the opportunity for free replenishment arrives, we replenish again!]
[Perfect, truly a perfect Difficult Realm…!]

Kakasha trembled with excitement as he cheered.
Han Yu-sung regarded him with an indifferent expression.

‘It’s proceeding as planned.’

Han Yu-sung was currently the most watched player.
Naturally, countless eyes were fixed upon him from all directions.
It was something I had experienced in my previous life as well. I knew how to handle it, so normally I would simply brush off those who couldn’t keep up with me.
But this time, I decided to use it to my advantage.

‘Did I sell information to the media for coins? Well, that’s not entirely bad either.’

Using the information brokers who tracked me to leak the Difficult Realm.
Simply opening the Difficult Realm and asking people to come was amateurish. So I deliberately chose the method of ‘leaking’ it.
A famous player like Han Yu-sung’s secret Difficult Realm had been leaked. Then naturally, curious players would flock to it.
And once they discovered that the Difficult Realm was better than expected.

[Wahoooo! Humans, humans are swarming like ants!]
“You’re having fun with this, aren’t you….”

News about the Difficult Realm would spread everywhere, and players who heard it would flock here one after another.
Just like now.
It was difficult to use repeatedly, but it was an extremely effective method when used initially.

‘Well, that settles the Difficult Realm then.’

The Hall of Trials would run smoothly on its own from now on.
Han Yu-sung recalled what he needed to do until the next trial opened.
The Woman Who Cuts the Moon—a special event that would soon be held on the Star Battlefield.
A hidden Difficult Realm had also opened around this time. If I use it well, I might be able to deal with the troublesome Linjo this opportunity.
And most importantly of all.

Shhhhhhh…!

The moment Han Yu-sung turned his thoughts toward what mattered most.
With an ominous sound, something materialized before him.
It was a letter.

[The Wanderer, the Blood Demon has sent you an invitation.]

The most important task among those Han Yu-sung needed to accomplish in the coming time.
An invitation from the Blood Demon had arrived.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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